1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a construction for coupling the deck and the hull of a small-sized marine craft to each other and, more particularly, to an improved construction of a bumper formed by the coupling flanges projecting from the peripheral edges of the deck and the hull.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term "marine craft" is used in this specification to generally mean such power-propelled boats or marine vehicles adapted to glide on the water surface under the control by a rider who stands or sits on such crafts. The marine craft is generally composed of a hull constituting the lower part of the craft and a deck covering the top of the hull. The hull and the deck are provided with coupling flanges projecting substantially horizontally therefrom. These flanges are superposed and bonded to each other by an adhesive, thus coupling the hull and the deck to each other. The outer extremities of the superposed flanges are bent to form a bumper for absorbing any shock which may be caused when, for example, the marine crafts collides with a quay wall, thus protecting the rider and the marine craft.
This conventional bumper construction, however, cannot provide sufficiently large shock absorbing effect because the bumper constituted by laminated flanges exhibits only a small deflection when shocked. Usually, the bumper is covered with a plastic protector which is intended for enhancing the shock absorbing effect and imparting an attractive appearance. Since the outer extremities of the flanges constituting the bumper are bent downwardly, there is no anchoring portion which would retain the protector on the upper side of the bumper, so that the protector is liable to come off. Any fixing means such as adhesive and bolts for preventing the protector from coming off makes it difficult to renew the protector.